🟧 - Sending lots of love to Substack's team from a new writer here. You've built an AMAZING platform, and I'd bet all my chips that THIS IS the future of reading quality content online.
Just one thing:
Do you have plans to introduce new payment methods?
1,000s of writers in Israel can't go paid since Stripe is not supported here. 😢
Be active on Office hours and Notes, read others' posts and comment on them. Interact with people on this platform in general, really. Also, you can reach out to other writers that write about similar things and see if they are interested in collaborating on a post.
Thank you, Robert I had reached out to a few writers on here about doing some work on professional skills or from an academic/educators perspective but only really heard back from one or two.
Let me know if you decide to post a notice on Notes about looking for other writers to collaborate with, I'll restack it so more hopefully more people see it. There are bound to be plenty of people to connect with, all you need is some luck in finding the right ones!
I had a lot of replies to a Note I posted during an office hours thread on collaborations. You can try contacting writers directly (there's usually an email address somewhere or a social media handle), or commenting on their articles and seeing if they are interested, although your success rate will highly depend on the who the writer is. Using comment threads like this one will probably yield much better results, and like I said Notes.
I’m 10 months into my Substack and have 1 paid subscriber and about 29 free subscribers. I just keep posting 1-3 posts a week here, and then post on my social media accounts. I think it helps if you have a defined vision for your Stack. I knew mine was going to be a mix of long form fiction, some short stories, and some personal essays. I’m having a hard time converting my social media followers into Substack subscribers, and only a handful of people from my network signed up when I launched. I’ve seen great success at my local farmers market with people buying my book, and showing an interest in my other projects. I e joined writing groups on FB because locally, the only one in my area meets when I’m at work, so I can never attend. Just keep plugging along because if you don’t build it, then no one will come.
I include a link to my substack (with a new media asset from each time I post) in my signature line on every email that goes out from my gmail account. People link from there. Also, I turn every post into a Facebook post and/or Facebook story. I put my Substack link everywhere! I.e., if I'm on a workshop that has a lively chat, I'll leave a comment and my andipenner.substack.com link :) especially if I can link it to whatever comment I just made. I've been on Substack since the end of December 2022. About 250 subscribers, 1 post a week, 8 paid (but I don't push for paid--not my purpose). Working on About page and narrowing focus. Meanwhile, giving myself until end of year to use my site as an experimental Sandbox before I take it to next level.
Andi ... good for you for focusing on your About Page. It has been said that newsletters subscribers subscribe to YOU, the newsletter author. Your About Page is key to them knowing you ... it's also one of the hardest things to write ... everyone struggles with it. My advice is to read as many as you can find and let them give you ideas for your own. Read fiction and non-fiction, in your genre and outside. Notice what draws you in.
Rewriting you About Page is also good exercise for clarifying what you want to write about and what your vision is for your newsletter. Best wishes!
I’ll have to try turning more posts into stories on FB and Insta. Whenever I post, I typically include a link to my Substack when applicable. Thank you so much for the tips! I will definitely try being more assertive with my link to my Stack!
I sell at least one book a week when I’m at the market. I include a business card that has my Substack and social media accounts on it. I’ve gotten a few new followers from it, but I’ve sold about 15 copies of my book in a month. So it’s been worth it to me.
That’s amazing. Congrats on the book! I’m nowhere near there yet, but hopefully one day, soon. And I’ll definitely keep your idea in my back pocket for when that day comes.
Weirdly I've found I've been getting followers coming from LinkedIn these last few weeks. It may be worth connecting with some writers on there. My biggest growth however came from a webinar I hosted on a large herbal medicine platform. It might be worth approaching some of communities who have large following for their genre and offering some free content to engage new readers? Worth a try.
I deleted my LinkedIn at the beginning of the year because I saw no value in it. It was a lot of work for zero return. I also had former co-workers from when I worked in news media harassing me while LinkedIn did nothing about it. So I took myself off the platform. I have been trying to connect with other writers, but no luck on a collaboration yet. I’m hoping I can get in my tribe’s newsletter and my half-sister’s tribe’s newsletter. Thank you for the information and sharing your story! Good luck to you!
I tend to post twice a week mondays and friday hadn't thought of facebook groups but i've been active on other SMs such as threads, and linkedin more so.
This is a great list Joyce, thanks for sharing. I just wanted to add that @Claire Venus's guide to success on Substack is found here. She is on your list but it was her other publication noted.
Find Substacks you enjoy reading and engage (genuinely) in their content with comments, replies etc. It'll happen organically from there and you'll begin to feel out what communities you really value.
Other readers are willing to pay for content that will help them make better real life decisions about their finances, health care and career opportunities.
If you come to Substack with a substantial following, building a newsletter list can be quick and quite profitable.
If you come to Substack with a fame deficit, as I did, it can take a long time to create your brand and attract attention on Google and Bing, which is what you need to grow.
At this point, my letters on Substack are not recognized on the search engines.
But they are quickly picked up on the other site where I use the same headlines and key words.
Hi Donald, Paul Macko has a great article about how to help search engines recognize your Substack. I couldn't find the exact article but I believe it's in this section of his Substack.
Hi Jordon. There's a gold mine of potential followers on Facebook groups, which might help you grow faster. Basically, find groups related to your writing, deliver super concise but valuable info to them, and then offer them your substack as a source for the info they're looking for. That has helped me a lot!
I've gotten a few free subscribers from my general Facebook page but nothing from specific FB groups...even ones that are appropriate top my topic. Hmmm. Any thoughts?
Interesting. It could be potentially how you present or package your newsletter when sharing. Then again, maybe what pulls in your audience might be different from mine. What do you do when sharing your posts in a FB group?
I built my nest egg through email blasts which helped there at least be a tiny little network effect. I have unfortunately tapped out on that resource for myself.
(Pro tip: People often include their email addresses on LinkedIn, so that's a resource).
Also, The Sample has generated 65 decent subscribers for me. Some fairly loyal ones game via that platform: https://thesample.ai/?ref=f259
Well I didn't automatically sign them up. I asked them through the link, so it was there choice at the end of the day. I also generally targeted people I knew. But most importantly, I don't really take seriously those who get annoyed by a random email advertisement (especially if it comes from an individual and not a large company).
I was wondering if some of you could help me - I've had a few piece of feedback that it wasn't clear enough what my substack was all about - from both the welcome page and the about us page. I've now made some changes and I was wondering if you could give it a quick look and tell me if it's now a bit clearer! If you've got a minute, here it is:
It's fine but it's bland. Here's what I wrote about About pages.
Now that we’ve plugged in the title and main imagery of your site, it’s time to talk about your About page. Aside from your homepage, this will likely be the most visited page of your whole site, and it needs to tell people exactly what they are getting as quickly as possible. Even if you have a meandering brand that touches on many things, people need to know that upfront.
This is also the page others will look at for cross-collaborations, and to hype up your brand, so it’s good to have everything they need high enough that they don’t have to scroll. For mine, I put the cover image at the top of the page, and then here is my first paragraph.
Welcome to the Author Stack. This publication sits at the intersection of craft and commerce, helping writers build more sustainable businesses that allow them to thrive while creating work that lights them up inside. We strive to give authors agency in a world that too often seems intent on stripping it away from them.
Notice how I state the name of the publication, then tell people exactly what to expect. I also added a slightly modified 7-word pitch (helping writers build more sustainable businesses) and ended with my universal fantasy. It’s all there in less than 100 words.
After that, I added my bio and expanded on why you should trust me to lead you on this journey. I focused on my value proposition and unique selling proposition throughout, with each paragraph going deeper and deeper into why somebody should trust me. Because my publication is about giving you agency, I decided to end with a positive message about the future to demonstrate the hopeful nature of my articles.
If you have specific days of the week you publish, or special perks for paid subscribers, this is a good place to lay them out. However, the most important thing is to keep people excited about the possibilities and not weigh them down with extraneous information. Your job is to sell them on why they should subscribe, and once you have sold them, stop selling.
I won’t tell you the exact length, but I will say that every paragraph should reinforce the central thesis of why somebody should subscribe to hear more about your work. If you want a little more detail about how to structure your About page, this article might be helpful.
Now, it’s time to condense this to your short description, which has as of yet been empty. You can find the short description under the Publication name in DASHBOARD>SETTINGS>BASICS.
Is there a way to actually see stats on how many visitors vist your About page? I almost never go to anyone's About page and use the mouse hover-over snippet as my initial guide of whether to click and then somewhat visually appraise the homepage and then click on something that draws my eye, read, then decide whether I am engaged or not and want to subscribe.
I'm really curious to know how much of an impact an About page makes.
I'd echo the earlier comment about tightening up the first sentence on your About page. I love what you're trying to say, but it took me more than a couple times of reading it to get it.
Cheers Kevin, appreciate you giving me your thoughts. I definitely haven't cracked this case wide open. I'll give it another whazz. I think I find it inherently cringey trying to sell myself, so I'm always looking for some sneaky approach, that I can live with
Sam ... feel free to submit you work to the challenge. It is officially over but I love helping people get these big elements right. Plus, it's great exercise for clarifying your value and what you want to write about.
Thanks for checking it out and letting me know! Oh cool, I'll check yours out too. It certainly is. There's not as many silly sausage around as you might expect
I love the whole thing you've got going over there. It's visually appealing and hilarious. I thought your about page was good (but I am not a Substack expert) and your home page is excellent.
Not sure what it used to look like, but to me it seems clear. Also really like the style of your about page, very personal, plus well-structured with the different headings. Also, all of your thumbnails on the homepage are in the same style, do you make those yourself? They look really good!
Hey Robert, thanks man, I appreciate the feedback! As for the images, I don't make them myself, I order them of fiiver every month. It doesn't cost a huge amount, and I really enjoy the process of coming up with the ideas (which I could never bring to life myself) - then seeing them once they've come to life
Ok, Sam ... finally actually looked at your stack. Your home page rocks ... I would say it's "grotty" except I'm still not sure what that means. In case it's good, take it. Whatever you're paying for those images is money well-spent. I've looked at multitudes of home pages on my journey to find Beautiful Examples for the Substack Field Guide ... your shows what I think Russell Nohelty calls an "ethos" and I call "artistic vision." It conveys a humorous, light-hearted take on things.
HOWEVER, (that usually introduces a negative, but in this case is the lead-in to a superlative), your titles are brilliant and compelling. The next issue of the Field Guide will focus on ENTER ... meaning making a great first impression. You've earned a place in that issue so I'm off to subscribe to Wrong Channel ... you might want to make that "Wrong Channel by Sam Briggs" to build your name recognition. Then, I will also look at your About Page. Keep going ... you're doing great.
Haha the value of the grot is certainly a point of contention! But proves why feedback is super important as I hadn’t realised it was a silly little bit of made up-sounding British English! It’s difficult to lose the assonance of grotty topics, but I don’t want to baffle people with the grottiness. I think I’ll have to add some examples of grottiness afterwards.
That’s so cool to hear! I’m really glad the images are having the desired effect. It really makes me smile seeing the artist coming up with the pics on these, dare I say, grotty topics.
Oh thank you! That’s really cool. I’m honoured to have made it 😀
What are you thinking? Changing the actual title to "Wrong Channel by Sam Briggs" to build your name recognition?
I sometimes feeel a bit guilty about my clickbaity headlines. But they have to be interesting enough for people to bother clicking on them. I find people don’t mind being baited as long they’re rewarded once they click.
Thanks for the encouragement, feedback and kind words. It’s so cool what you’re doing to support other writers on substack
Well I've guffawed twice and I'm only in the second paragraph. Thought: I like all the mixed messages of "Wrong Channel" ... I wonder, though, if "Grotty Channel" (now that I've read your definition) might also work. Would probably depend on how it works for your audience.
Haha that would be tempting but I have a YouTube channel by the same name, so have to keep it consistent! And I had only just looked at the definition of grotty and found it to be spot on. Just had an idea I could include that definition in the title. Might work! Here’s the benefit of chatting with fellow writers
I wish I could help, but I'm afraid I am not in your target group. I do not understand the word "grotty". And that plays an important role in your about page. So, it's rather lost on me, to be honest.
But... as I started with: if I am not your target audience, then it's perfect. If I don't know what grotty means, I might not get your content anyway. So, it's probably a good selector.
haha oh man, sorry I excluded you with the grottiness of it all! There is some non-grot in there you might take more of a shining to. That's interesting to know. It's impossible to measure how widespread awareness of grotty is. That feedback is very helpful actually, as I've just realised it's an informal british word, so could be isolating Americans
Just noticed "grotty" ... being American, I don't really get it ... but it sort of telegraphs a lot ... contemporary, casual, perhaps "gritty," perhaps a bit dark, ... google says "unpleasant and poor quality" but I get it as a rather snarky, humorous take on things. I would keep the word and make weave in a few words that would make us Americans feel like we're "in" on something. ;-)
No, don't worry. It's completely fine. I just wanted you to be aware of the signal value of that word.
I don't feel excluded at all, Can't be everywhere at once. My niche is poetry, that's also not for everybody. I bet there are a lot of people who see the word poetry in my substack and move away. That's good. You can't be everywhere and you can't please everyone. If you try, all you do is fail. Find your niche. If that is the people who use the word grotty, that's where you start building. Embrace it.
Thanks Arjan! The thing is there’s probably lots of people who would like it who aren’t familiar with gritty, so I need to sort it out. I think to Joyce’s point I can keep the grot but add a bit of clarity
Checked it out. Seems clear :). "You will have stumbled across my writing if you've been camped within my bedroom ..." Hahaha. Same. "How to Survive Being an Ex-Stoner around Stoners" is great! Subscribed. My stuff isn't in this genre, though I like to hope readers find themselves laughing at a line or two. Laughter is SUCH a valuable resource in this crazy world.
Hi Holly, I'm glad it made some sense! Write like nobodies reading as they say. Glad you like it. Ex-potheads make the world go around. That's cool. I'm a bit scared to write anything that isn't intended to make people laugh. I just realised I've never actually done that!
Hello, Sam. The first line of your "About" section - I had to read it twice because the phrasing is a little off-putting. I think that you could consider deleting that first paragraph and starting with the second paragraph that goes, "I usually write about anything that seems funny to me." That's a direct statement. And then specificity on what topics could be considered on the clammy side of life's undercarriage. Like, if I have to imagine those topics on my own, I might be thinking of anything from cringy public outbursts to people with cabbage fetishes. I also like the directness of the first sentence of the "Who is Me?" I think the straightforwardness is necessary because you need to grab a reader in just a few seconds.
Hi Sam! Just read your about page. For me, I really get it when you write, “Wrong Channel is a comedy blog on grotty topics - writing about anything that’s not quite right - with some not-grot mixed in for good measure, too.” Maybe start with that? Good luck!
haha that's good to know. I'll get rid of that one. I'm always getting in my own head about claiming anything is funny, because you can't trust anyone who says it. That's a good idea mate. haha cabbage fetishists making cringy public outburst is my niche - maybe it is is working. Funnily enough, I used to start the thing with who is me? - but some readers felt I needed to go into what it was all about first. Thanks Jonathan, I really appreciate the feedback!
Cabbage fetish outbursts is a wide open niche to corner. Just ripe for the taking. And good! It could take some messing with - I think I’ve changed my “About” and “welcome” probably 15 times.
When people subscribe to a newsletter, they do so with the expectation of privacy. Now that Substack publicly displays a newsletter’s subscribers (at least some of them, if not all), you’ve violated this implicit understanding between subscriber and publication.
Also, you reveal email addresses in some cases.
Will Substack do something about this? Some people write about sensitive topics and don't want their subscribers made public. But just overall, it's not a good thing.
This is not good. I think it's been slipped in to up the followers potential.... since by each subscriber there is a button to "follow" not subscribe. Sneaky. On a typical news letter subscribers are kept private... the newsletter is like one-2-one even though it's written as one-2-many.
Interesting. Checked my personal settings as well, expecting to find a switch to not show up. I could not find it. That seems an omission. I publicly subscribe to the substacks I subscribe to. Even comment publicly. But if you choose not to do so, you should be able to select that you don't show up in lists like this.
I've never seen the lists of subscribers to other writers' letters.
As the owner of my newsletter, I expect to see my subscribers' newsletters. I need access to those addresses so I can email individuals when they ask me to .
There's a link beneath your name that says "500 subscribers". Click that to see them. The wording of the link varies from pub to pub, but it's the same thing. Your list is now public, as is mine, and everybody else's.
That's interesting, though I'd like to know what going deep into a clear topic means. Does it mean a focus on just one topic, or one-off long posts about a particular topic? I subscribe to several newsletters that cover lots of things (as mine does), and also very narrowly focused ones, and they are all equally engaging. Thanks
Once I found out that Substack features writers that go deep into a clear topic I've had that same question. Does this mean the niche-ier the better (making up my own words now)?
Who knows, Donna. I've gone into one topic deeply (about jazz) and I've gone into deep topics. But it's my experiments in style posts that garner the most interest, which is interesting
I think your experiments in style is very unique, which Substack likes. It's consistent, it offers value, is interesting and the articles are the perfect length that demonstrate the whole concept without being bulky.
Actually, now that I write this all out I think you should be a Substack featured writer for your experiments in style articles (sorry, I arrived after most of the jazz articles were published and haven't had a chance to look at them.)
On the subject of regular posting: I think it depends on the kind of Substack and the kind of audience. I post on Slouching Towards Bethlehem once per month. I do this deliberately because a) because it gives time to chew on my fairly longform essays and b) I think my readers would not appreciate a daily or even weekly. For those who do want more I post very regularly on Notes.
Interesting comment but again I think it depends. My https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/ is about 'Reflections' on broad political themes. You don't want to be 'reflecting' every day! I can see how your audience's needs would be very different. I get hardly any unsubscribes....once they've arrived, they stay.
🟧 Thanks Katie and the Substack team for organizing the Office Hour. There is a LOT of useful content. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to follow and comments get lost very easily. Is there a way to organize the different topics using more than the symbols but actual clickable sub-structure? Is there a way to follow your own question thread? Here is what I posted earlier and I am reposting it here -
🟧 - I would like to know if and when Substack would offer the writers more flexibility when it comes to selectively archiving past postings. Currently, it is pretty much "all or nothing" and for me to utilize the archive feature to provide paid subscription value, I would like to be able to customize which articles to archive and under what subsection. Can anyone care to offer some visibility into product enhancement on the archive feature?
🟧 Can I beg for some help in finding where my blogs were restacked? Only just found out about the dashboard & intrigued about restocks on some older posts I hadn’t checked.
Hi! Unfortunately this isn't possible at the moment.
The reasoning, if you're curious, is that we need to display these equations as images to send posts out via email, and inline images aren't supported sufficiently in many email clients, to the point where posts would look broken to many email readers.
Super helpful. Although I've been on Substack for a while, I've taken a break and feel that the platform has evolved so quickly, there are a few new things I need to employ to improve my readers experience. I'm learning a lot from other writers and so I appreciate this chance to share resources and ideas.
Hi Rasini! Thanks so much for sharing this info for free. I'm sure it took a lot of time to put together but it looks packed with value. Definitely going to dig into the details later this evening. Cheers!
Thanks for the article! Some of the Appearance/Design brand identity questions present a chicken/egg dilemma I faced at the beginning of this year. I had only a few articles and didn’t even know what exactly I wanted to write about, much less what brand design to aim for. I just made some hasty choices for layout, name, and About page, and I started writing. Best I could do at the time. Planning to revisit your article at the end of the year though, once I’ve got a sample population of articles to analyze. Looking forward to making some improvements, and then adding the additional 99,950 subscribers I’m aiming for.
Thanks for the tips! Could you expand a little deeper (with examples) on how to better utilize the Substack built-in SEO, and also leverage social media ads?
Raisini, I have been using Substack's SEO however did not setup my Substack URL on google Console. When I tried to do so earlier, it failed domain ownership verification. Do you know what might have caused that?
Hi Valerie - I would love to hear more about your growth of free/paid subs. Congrats on such an accomplishment. Any tips or insights for growing that you can share?
Alyssa, I was at first offering all posts for free till I realized how much work it was taking to produce them weekly. Then, still somewhat reluctant, I started putting occasional posts (only the q&a's) behind a paywall. Big jump in paid subscribers. So I'm experimenting with paywalling more posts. Even though I seem to have excellent reader engagement, it still makes me nervous.
As a paid subscriber in Val's community I will offer an (unasked for) opinion here. Don't you love it when people do that?! But I think that's what Office Hours is for.
Val offers excellent value to a paid sub in the form of solid, research based information, but she also makes us feel like we are her her friends by sharing stories about her life and occasional challenges she is facing. She is very welcoming and has created the most amazing community of like minded souls who engage with each other. I have met many wonderful people by showing up there. It's like a really special kind of Office Hours.
Now, how you pull all that off Val, I'm not sure, but it's great!
Like Alyssa and Melanie, I too would love to know how you grew your Stack. I’ve been struggling to gain new Subscribers and convert my social media followers to subscribers.
It's been word of mouth for me mostly. I've been invited to be on several podcasts--and a while ago The Cut at New York Magazine offered to syndicate my posts if I would write one exclusive for them/month. That helps drive readers to HNTFUYF far more than social media.
✏ Like Alyssa, I'm eager to hear your tips Valerie. I've had my account since January but just posted 2 weeks ago. Do you have a post about your growth?
When I got a paid subscriber, it came in the notification email but I’m also able to see it on my dashboard. I don’t know if you can leave a message. Perhaps when you re-up for the next cycle? Not sure.
It's a new feature. Go up to the top of this discussion and click "read" to return to the post and see the new features announced there. It's easy to skim past them to get to discussion. :-)
I just asked this question under Chevannes' question (sorry C💗), but do you know where I can find them in my Stack or where I go to post one. I am unclear on that.
Ah, so there’s is no functionality on the app...I’m new and have been wondering about that. I’m finding that I’m doing all of my writing on my phone. So, it would make sense to be able to publish and edit posts on it, as well. ALSO, I’ve been watching substacked videos and workshops on the app, but it doesn’t allow for streaming or reading in landscape orientation, so the videos and PDFs in the videos are impossible to read. As a filmmaker who hopes to include video on my substack to support my writing, is there any chance the app will become rotatable? AND I highly recommend becoming a paid subscriber to Sarah Fay’s Writers at Work. Sarah answers many of the kinds of questions I’m seeing here!
🧠 Here’s a lil bit of encouragement that I shared yesterday on Notes. Perhaps it will give you a boost, today?
I got my start on Instagram posting my writing online. And anyone who has been on Instagram for a while knows that it has gone through quite a few shifts over the years, some of them not so nice for creatives just trying to get their work seen.
A philosophy I adopted during the ups and downs on Instagram is this:
Just post it. The people who need it will see it.
When I came to Substack and I was a teeny tiny little account with hardly any readers, I brought that philosophy with me. It’s still my philosophy today.
You can’t control algorithms, discoverability, trends, or reader engagement. You can read all the advice, spend money on courses, and adopt every tool in the book. But in the end, that part isn’t up to you.
Instead, imagine that somewhere out there—whether they engage or not—the person who needs your work is waiting to read it. Your job is not to let them down. You’re a writer!
Just post it. The people who need it will see it. ✨
I love this so much. Re: “the people who need it will see it,” I totally agree.
It’s been such a heartwarming boost to get messages here and there—not just from friends, but also acquaintances and even strangers—that something I wrote resonated with them. One message like that buoys me for weeks! I’ve upped my replying and commenting game to pay that feeling forward for others.
I absolutely agree with this. I came to Substack in February absolutely cold and just wrote once a week, straight out into the ether. At first it was very lonely, but soon subscribers started to come and with interaction on Notes that increased. At the moment subs are coming more quickly and I'm not too far away from 200, plus a few paid. All my posts are free, as is my archive. I make it clear that a paid sub is like a tip jar, and I don't provide anything extra. I'm not here to create an income. Just to write and hopefully have people like and read what I'm writing.
Hi Cole! It's in my Substack profile, but fair warning: I have it set to private and I don't use it for sharing my work anymore. I just use it as a fun, fluffy social media account, which works better for my brain nowadays. 😁
🧠 - A lot of writers on Substack ask what metrics or stats are important when trying to determine what "works" for growth. Is it likes, open rates, comments or geography? I'm here to tell you that's the mindset of a content producer, not a writer. If you want to spend your days reacting to statistics, your content will be as fickle as your audience. Write what you want and what you're passionate about, be good at it, and the rest will fall into place. You will automatically attract those readers who share your same passion and appreciate your unique voice. If you just want to make a name for yourself and lots of money to boot, then there are much easier ways than writing.
Brian, I think your point is incredibly well taken and well stated. The last thing any artist, including writers, should want is to become transactional. I don't want people to read my work because I'm an effective marketer or salesperson. I want them to read because the work is valuable to them. It's all about the work. Frankly, that's my one big concern about Substack. It tends to encourage us to become more transactional.
Thanks, Howard! It's definitely true that Substack is transactional since it's the mainstay of their business model, but we don't have to operate with that mindset. Technically speaking my readers are customers or consumers, but I treat them like discerning readers who are sharing a common experience, and in the case of one of my Substacks, as a society who even share a common vision. They're paying to encourage me and help provide resources, but it's much less transactional than other platforms.
Hi Brian and Howard, I appreciate your comments, as I so enjoy writing and dislike it when I get too caught up in the transactional and social media type of mindset.
I agree with this completely. Don't write to cater to an audience, write from your voice. Deep inside your loins. Get into it and share. The audience will come if you just keep doing that instead of trying to please people and some numbers on a chart.
I do try to stay with my integrity and writing with my sincerity and voice not to get caught up in the need to prove or validate myself or grow an audience with catchy strategies. However, when I edited, I do try make my article flow, and think of the reader, and try not to burden them with too much of my own needs.
Thanks for saying this Brian. I have definitely been struggling between writing what I actually want to write vs. what I think will attract the most people. With this being the first time writing in my life besides school, it feels weird to just be genuine, especially coming from using social media constantly where no one seems to care about the person, just what attracts attention. I appreciate you being so candid, as I needed to hear this!
I know several writers here who have paid enabled, but are more interested in continuing to write for fun even though they know it won't include a big audience. I enjoy writing fiction, but there are a few topics I'm knowledgeable about and could make good money writing, but I would not enjoy it at all. Find your balance and the joy you have will be contagious. 👍
I agree. My reason for starting a Substack was merely to creatively explore a topic I'm interested in and go on a learning journey with like minded folks. Numbers and stats didn't really come into it. At times I feel like the platform has forgotten this important element of enjoyment for reader and writer. Not everything has to be about money or status.
✏️ + 🟧 - Any tips or insights from those who have achieved 100+ paid subscribers? Have you utilized certain methods like a discount offering in free subscriber welcome emails, occasional specials or other incentives? I would especially love to hear some creative approaches.
The majority of my Substack content is free (and I would prefer to not paywall my archive/bulk of my work). I offer paid subs additional resources on select posts (like a recording or Q&A behind the paywall), discounts on my professional services, and access to a submission form.
Hoping to be inspired by others growth and strategies, thank you!
Just over 100 subs here. All my stuff is free and I publish either once a week or once every two weeks.
My biggest source of followers is through interaction with other people here (recommendations, call-outs, guest posts, etc.) basically just supporting other great writers!
Matt -- to clarify, you have over 100 subs or over 100 paid subs? Like you, all my stuff is free, but I give folks the option to support the work financially if they wish. Been hovering at around 7% paid subscribers.
I have 58 subs. Zero paid yet. Feels bad. Advice on making them the pitch to sign up? I’m still relatively new in the paid game even though I’ve been here with another Substack for 2 years
Here is the post where I explained to my readers the reason why I decided to add the paywall. If you scroll to the bottom of this post under the Housekeeping items you'll see what I sent. I followed it up with one more free post where I reminded my readers the next post would be for my Membership Circle. Since then every second post is for my paid subs. I made sure my first post to paid subs was one that was very enticing.
Interesting. I’d love keep everything open, while having enough paid subs. to give me some pocket money. This encourages me to believe it’s possible! Any other elements to achieving payment this way, Elizabeth? Thanks 🙏
Elizabeth, that's the strategy I'm about to activate in September. Wonder how its going for you. Artists of old had patrons, and I'm hoping we can earn them as well. Take out all the transactionality and make it all about the value of the work. Any suggestions would be welcome!
In the subscribers tab in the dashboard you can email people, and I have found the best way to turn somebody into a paid subscriber is to send them a 1-time offer to upgrade. I have literally 100 paid subs right now and am waiting for 101 to hopefully get that little checkmark.
I don't post big discounts, but I do target people through filtering.
Russell, you just inspired me to try this - just sent an email to the most engaged readers with a discount for the yearly sub option. Felt scary, but I am super curious (and excited) to see what happens!
I tried this recently and didn't see any conversions. I'm surprised as I had some switch over to paid a month or so before when I ran a special. I will keep this in mind though and try again at a later date.
I write a technical newsletter about Python. My main goal is to help people get out of the beginner mindset, and start to gain a deeper understanding of the language and how they can use it in their everyday work. I don't have 100 paid subscribers yet, but I should get there before too much longer.
I want to get paid for the work of putting out quality writing every week, but I also want the overall resource I'm creating to be available to people who can't afford things like newsletter subscriptions. I decided to make some posts paid, but all paid posts are unlocked after a period of 6 weeks. I tell people that paid subscriptions let you see everything as soon as it's posted, but the primary benefit is knowing that you're helping to make this content available to people who can't afford to pay for it.
My paid to free ratio is lower than many, but if my audience continues to grow it will be a meaningful amount.
This is really helpful, thank you. Also, I really like the idea of unlocking paid posts after a set time. I haven't seen that option before and it feels like a great way to incentivize paid subs while also giving options to those who can't afford it. Thank you!!
It's not a built-in feature. I use an issue tracker to keep track of all my newsletter-related work. When I make a paid post, I add a note about when to unlock the paid posts.
Even without the issue tracker, it's pretty straightforward to just look back through the last 6 weeks' of posts and see how many are going to need to be unlocked, and when.
I have been a member of some online communities for a long time, so I mention my newsletter on those profile pages. I have some other projects out there, and I include a link to the newsletter on relevant projects. I also reach out to podcast hosts in my field, and try to do a "podcast tour" once in a while. Those have been fantastic for referrals.
All of this has led to a steadily growing subscriber base.
I think that's a pretty interesting approach. My decision is pretty specific to my audience. A significant part of my audience is people who are just getting into programming, or people who have been at it for a while but are looking to level up. A lot of the value is in my archive, but a lot of the people who need what's in that archive are at a point in their career where they can't afford a number of newsletter subscriptions. So, I really want that archive available to those people when they need it.
I have a 3-5 year vision for my newsletter. As these subscribers do level up, I'm hoping to see them end up as paid subscribers 6 months, 1 year, 3 years from now. I've been a programming author for 10 years now, and I've had similar growth in more formal publication work.
If I were writing for an audience who already had expertise that should correlate to well-paying jobs, I might consider the opposite approach. I think it's *really* important for people to have a clear intended audience, and then find ways to sort out who your actual audience is. Then formulate a strategy that works for your audience, not just decide on random "growth hacks" or something.
Thanks for asking this question, Alyssa. Thought I'd jump in here and follow along, as I've been wondering the same. I haven't yet launched paid subscriptions but am working on a strategy to do so and similarly don't want to paywall the archive but do want to offer extra goods! :)
Thanks Denise. Field Guide #2 is now out focusing on how to help readers find us. There is a 30-day Free Trial so that everyone can read this first important step of the simple marketing process that's the backbone of the Field Guide ... ENTICE - ENTER-ENGAGE-EXIT-EXTEND. Getting started is challenging but everyone seems to say the first 500 subscribers are hard ... after that it gets easier. ;-)
I'm considering a paywall, but like you, I would like my content to be free as much as possible , but was wondering how that has worked to provide a discount on your professional services? I'm just finishing a long piece on dreamwork, influence by some of my background with Jungian work and would love to do an interview with you. I'm transitioning into doing some podcasts which are fun switch from writing.
Before Substack, I had Patreon and offered discounts for professional services, so I carried that over when I made the switch. It works well and I have subscribers who utilize it for 1-off sessions or to purchase/attend a class at a discounted rate. I include the discount code via the paid subscribers welcome email.
Curious to read your piece on dreamwork and glad to meet another with an interest in Jungian ideas. I've subscribed to your newsletter and would be interested to have a podcast interview with you. Feel free to email me at aapolizzi@gmail.com :)
Hi Alyssa, my paid publication has 140 paying subs and a conversion of 6.5%.
When I went paid I focussed on what was behind the paywall (lots of valuable resources for food safety professionals to use in their jobs) and had a conversion rate of 2%.
To get past 100 paying subs and go from 2% to 6% I did 3 things:
- focussed on writing the most fantastic in-depth super-high value content weekly posts possible. All of that is accessible to everyone. It's got me more raving fans who pay to support my work, rather than paying for the things behind the paywall.
- getting in front of more people more often;
- sharing a testimonial from a paying subscriber inside weekly posts at least a few times per month.
The local currency feature has also boosted conversions I think. More than half of new paying subscribers are paying in other currencies instead of USD.
If you want to learn more about my journey from 0 to $13K, I share insights like this every week in my free publication Pubstack Success (my paid pub is published under a different name/account out of respect for my B2B readers).
I've noticed for my Substack that the rate of new subscribers has fallen a bit while keeping up my regular publishing schedule and just wondering if other writers are experiencing the same thing?
It seems the last month or so has been fluctuating/stalling compared to the months prior. I am still experiencing growth organically and from the network. But I was wondering....is something off?
Following is way, way less commitment, so... I guess it's like dating, and subscribing is like marriage? That's probably not quite right, but it's the closest I can get.
Thanks - I saw. I still don't really understand what following a writer means or what the user experience is for that, but we'll see, I suppose. Good follow-up question.
Yes, I noticed the same thing. I was getting four per day then it dropped off. New products like Notes may drive discoverability but then it’s up to us to try sustaining it. It’s tough out there.
I've noticed this as well and I'm guessing it has to do with the time of year. This month, in particular, is so all over the place– we're bouncing between end of summer, back to school. Just looking at how my own headspace and calendar has changed my reading and interacting habits, I'd bet that this season is a bit cluttered and distracted for a lot of people...
It's also back-to-school season, so the teacher-writers on here (especially teacher-parent-writers) might not have the same discretionary time. It will be interesting to see if there is an August/Sept dip in both subscriptions and "opens."
OMGosh, yes! I chalk it up to just a "lull" in the algorithm... but whenever this happens, I try to read more of the Substacks I follow and engage more with their stuff. I can't say if this helps, but I consider it to be Substack Karma maybe??
Ebbs and flows, Robert. Earlier this summer growth was flatlining for me. Now it's growing again at a good pace. Steely Dan always helps, and lots of retweets on, you know, that other place. Posting on Notes helps too. Voluntary paid subscriptions have evaporated after 27 months, though, so I am going to need a new strategy. But some of the paid strategies I've seen lately are rigid and harsh, and the writers don't seem to have thought through the cost vs. value of their Substacks. (They overvalue their own work.) And the competition for even views from the vast multitude of music stacks like ours is becoming fierce: hundred and hundreds.
All very true. Steely Dan is your sweet spot, for sure. Elvis is mine - my latest piece on him received great traffic including on that site (I moved my Substack to my own domain to get around Elon's throttle). Your experience on voluntary paid subscriptions is interesting - I am planning to turn on paid subscriptions this fall (but keeping everything I write open to everyone). I don't like the idea of suddenly putting a padlock on some of my work. It will be a trial and error process, I am sure. And yes, the number of music Substacks keeps growing.
Summer duldrums. I was a journalist for 10 years and July/August are the longest stretch of enemic statistics. Mid-December - Mid-January is the furthest drop though. It doesn't last as long, but that's when most of us will get the least amount of readers of the year.
🧠Robert, I think the tsunami of our initial April Notes-drop/subbie flood is naturally dissipating, as it probably could've been predicted. I think it's not related to anything we are or are not doing (like pub schedule, etc).....just law of averages, more or less!
I prefer subscribers as a writer. Followers are a social media feature. Or I could be wrong. I don’t know if there is a genuine conversion rate of followers turning into subscribers.
Agreed, The word subscriber implies that those people find your work to be of value. They have invested in you. Follower has a completely different nuance.
I agree so much. I dont see the point in the "follower" stuff they jsut added. Its just tricks me when email comes to me saying "you got a new follower" instead of "you got a new subscriber".....
If that's so, then why followers which dilute the subscriber base? And why make everybody's subscriber list public? When people find out that the subscriber list is available for anyone to see, that my be a disincentive to subscribe.
I am looking for guest writers to feature on The Books That Made Us, a community of bibliophiles and book lovers.
Every post is written by a different guest writer who discusses a ‘foundational book’. A book that you read and reread and have thought about ever since. A book that shaped who you are today. A book that made you.
In 4 weeks since launch we have already garnered over 1500 subscribers (and a 70% open rate) so it’s a great opportunity to get your writing in front of more eyeballs!
I could write a personal essay about the His Dark Materials trilogy if you are interested. Feel free to DM me. I'm about to go on a 5-day vacation and that could be a fun project for me.
I'll be taking a look at your write-for-us post. Sounds like you're going to produce an excellent resource for anyone seeking to improve upon themselves. I'd love to be part of that.
What a brilliant concept. I'd love to write on this topic. I have a book in mind. It's fiction I read as a teenager. I hope that counts. I'll be in touch.
Hello, I have an in-depth analysis of the Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse (my all time favourite book) that I have been waiting to publish, I would love to be a guest writer!
Check out my work and let me know if you’re interested
🟧✏️ Last week Hamish mentioned that our subscriber list, or part of it, is public. This alarmed me! I haven't been able to see where this takes place, either on my own Substack or on others'. Can someone show me what this looks like, where to see such a list?
I asked how to turn this feature off, and Hamish said it's up to the subscribers (who don't know about this) to turn off this access in their settings.
I believe my subscribers deserve privacy, so this troubles me greatly...
I noticed this the other day, too. I believe you can access this by tapping on a user’s name. It’ll show their number of subscribers and even who they are. I don’t like that other people can see who is a paying and free subscriber to your publication. Feels like a violation of privacy.
Those who don't like that your sub list is now public should speak up. Say something on Notes and/or here on Office Hours. I've been doing so, but so far Substack hasn't responded.
🟧✏️So how do we protest this invasion of privacy, this lack of transparency? Any ideas? Last week Hamish didn't seem that open to challenges to this feature. I think he has this idea that everyone should be friends and boosters of everyone else - but some of us have principles or feelings going against that.
It doesn't surprise me that they're not open to it. Substack is becoming more and more about showing who has more marbles than another. The fact that making your sub list public violates a long standing understanding between subscriber and publication doesn't seem to matter much to Substack.
But keep speaking up. I've been doing so and have discovered that a lot of people don't seem to even know about it. Substack slipped it in without fanfare.
Looking for the place where a subscriber might switch off the public subscription announcement for themselves. Could there be an option to make each subscription public or private? There are things that people don't search anymore using usual search engines due to the on-line snooping. Perhaps an employer might develop inappropriate interest in what you choose to read. In the current social climate, some people will subscribe more freely if they can opt to keep it private.
🟧Just wondering... we've talked often about how Notes is not social media and doesn't have the same features or downfalls as social media. Doesn't "follow" strike anyone as maybe being a little too "social-media-like?"
I'm thinking the way Substack is using it is more practical. It's a lower commitment than subscribing to their newsletter (which can REALLY get out-of-hand for the inbox if we're (or at least, I'm) not selective and intentional, and the start of a connection with people who may become subscribers down the line if they resonate with you as a follower
Thank you, Bailey. Do we have a sense yet of whether people become followers and then become subscribers--or do they become followers and then don't subscribe?
Personally, I think the whole referral thing is a distraction and focuses reader attention on the commercial side rather than the value side of the offering.
🟧 How is Substack thinking of helping smaller writers grow. There were some comments about Subscriber counts disadvantaging smaller publications and programs like Substack Grow not running often. Thanks!
I would recommend checking out the SEO section of the settings page in posts. You can have a totally different, hidden title for your posts to index on the web. Web indexing is huge for content. One of my biggest growth bumps came when I indexed #3 on Google for a huge breaking news story in my niche. We’re talking tens of thousands of visitors in 24 hrs.
To do this, I recommend you run your headlines through CoSchedule headline studio. It will rate your title based on how optimized it is. For example, my last short story is called “Ultra Violet.” Terrible SEO. So I worshipped it and arrived at “The Garden Lights Aren't Safe; just Look what They did to My Daughter.” A 75/100 optimization score.
Keep in mind too, this is what shows up in someone’s inbox. You’re also looking to grab your readers attention as they swipe through hundreds of emails. Which version would stop you scrolling?
thanks for the suggestion, have recently started experimenting with Google's keyword tool, could supplement it with CoSchedule, see if it has any effect.
I agree as a marketer too. But platforms make people more human and inhuman. That was the reason I started writing on substack knowing that writers are more open here. Compared to how mang writers on twitter always ignore networking & humanity in exchange for growth.
🟧 - Sending lots of love to Substack's team from a new writer here. You've built an AMAZING platform, and I'd bet all my chips that THIS IS the future of reading quality content online.
Just one thing:
Do you have plans to introduce new payment methods?
1,000s of writers in Israel can't go paid since Stripe is not supported here. 😢
Yes, I think this is the biggest challenge right now, that paid is not available everywhere.
There used to be an interesting route that people in India took.
But recurring payments in crypto could also go a long way. I hope that's in the roadmap, too.
Woohoo! You just made my day Katie.
Even if it’ll take a few months/years - this is GREAT news 🧡
I totally support this idea! PayPal in particular, as it is globally available. That one alone would open all of South America as a potential market 😼
🧠 any tips for relatively new writers to grow our own communities more and attract more followers.
Be active on Office hours and Notes, read others' posts and comment on them. Interact with people on this platform in general, really. Also, you can reach out to other writers that write about similar things and see if they are interested in collaborating on a post.
Thank you, Robert I had reached out to a few writers on here about doing some work on professional skills or from an academic/educators perspective but only really heard back from one or two.
Let me know if you decide to post a notice on Notes about looking for other writers to collaborate with, I'll restack it so more hopefully more people see it. There are bound to be plenty of people to connect with, all you need is some luck in finding the right ones!
Thanks Robert I appreciate that and will certainly take you up on the very kind offer.
yes, definitely excellent suggestions.
I had a lot of replies to a Note I posted during an office hours thread on collaborations. You can try contacting writers directly (there's usually an email address somewhere or a social media handle), or commenting on their articles and seeing if they are interested, although your success rate will highly depend on the who the writer is. Using comment threads like this one will probably yield much better results, and like I said Notes.
Yes, there are several ways. I just did a 10,000 word post about it. https://authorstack.substack.com/p/how-to-get-noticed-on-substack
Thank you Russell.
Thanks, very useful and encouraging.
I’m 10 months into my Substack and have 1 paid subscriber and about 29 free subscribers. I just keep posting 1-3 posts a week here, and then post on my social media accounts. I think it helps if you have a defined vision for your Stack. I knew mine was going to be a mix of long form fiction, some short stories, and some personal essays. I’m having a hard time converting my social media followers into Substack subscribers, and only a handful of people from my network signed up when I launched. I’ve seen great success at my local farmers market with people buying my book, and showing an interest in my other projects. I e joined writing groups on FB because locally, the only one in my area meets when I’m at work, so I can never attend. Just keep plugging along because if you don’t build it, then no one will come.
I include a link to my substack (with a new media asset from each time I post) in my signature line on every email that goes out from my gmail account. People link from there. Also, I turn every post into a Facebook post and/or Facebook story. I put my Substack link everywhere! I.e., if I'm on a workshop that has a lively chat, I'll leave a comment and my andipenner.substack.com link :) especially if I can link it to whatever comment I just made. I've been on Substack since the end of December 2022. About 250 subscribers, 1 post a week, 8 paid (but I don't push for paid--not my purpose). Working on About page and narrowing focus. Meanwhile, giving myself until end of year to use my site as an experimental Sandbox before I take it to next level.
Andi ... good for you for focusing on your About Page. It has been said that newsletters subscribers subscribe to YOU, the newsletter author. Your About Page is key to them knowing you ... it's also one of the hardest things to write ... everyone struggles with it. My advice is to read as many as you can find and let them give you ideas for your own. Read fiction and non-fiction, in your genre and outside. Notice what draws you in.
Rewriting you About Page is also good exercise for clarifying what you want to write about and what your vision is for your newsletter. Best wishes!
I think the signature point is a good idea, considering my target audience is academics it might be a good way to reach out etc.
I’ll have to try turning more posts into stories on FB and Insta. Whenever I post, I typically include a link to my Substack when applicable. Thank you so much for the tips! I will definitely try being more assertive with my link to my Stack!
I really like the local farmers market idea!
I sell at least one book a week when I’m at the market. I include a business card that has my Substack and social media accounts on it. I’ve gotten a few new followers from it, but I’ve sold about 15 copies of my book in a month. So it’s been worth it to me.
Congrats on the book!
Thank you! My second book releases in a week and my third book will be out by the end of the year.
That’s amazing. Congrats on the book! I’m nowhere near there yet, but hopefully one day, soon. And I’ll definitely keep your idea in my back pocket for when that day comes.
Thank you! My second book releases in a week and my third book will be out by the end of the year.
Weirdly I've found I've been getting followers coming from LinkedIn these last few weeks. It may be worth connecting with some writers on there. My biggest growth however came from a webinar I hosted on a large herbal medicine platform. It might be worth approaching some of communities who have large following for their genre and offering some free content to engage new readers? Worth a try.
Thanks Sarah, mines so far come from threads and Tiktok surprisingly.
I deleted my LinkedIn at the beginning of the year because I saw no value in it. It was a lot of work for zero return. I also had former co-workers from when I worked in news media harassing me while LinkedIn did nothing about it. So I took myself off the platform. I have been trying to connect with other writers, but no luck on a collaboration yet. I’m hoping I can get in my tribe’s newsletter and my half-sister’s tribe’s newsletter. Thank you for the information and sharing your story! Good luck to you!
94 subscribers and 1 paid. Same boat.
I tend to post twice a week mondays and friday hadn't thought of facebook groups but i've been active on other SMs such as threads, and linkedin more so.
Welcome, Jordan ... this is the place to be and there are a bunch of Substack coaches who can be helpful. Here is a list of some who might be helpful. https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/substack-writers-guides
This is a great list Joyce, thanks for sharing. I just wanted to add that @Claire Venus's guide to success on Substack is found here. She is on your list but it was her other publication noted.
https://sparkleon.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=reader2&utm_source=%2Fsearch%2FSparkle%2520on%2520Substack&utm_medium=reader2
Thank you as well Donna, appreciate it.
Claire is brilliant! I do need to update her info on that list. Thanks for the reminder.
Substack coaches? Fascinating.
Thanks Joyce i'll give this a look.
Find Substacks you enjoy reading and engage (genuinely) in their content with comments, replies etc. It'll happen organically from there and you'll begin to feel out what communities you really value.
There's also Notes, too.
Some readers want entertainment for free.
Other readers are willing to pay for content that will help them make better real life decisions about their finances, health care and career opportunities.
If you come to Substack with a substantial following, building a newsletter list can be quick and quite profitable.
If you come to Substack with a fame deficit, as I did, it can take a long time to create your brand and attract attention on Google and Bing, which is what you need to grow.
At this point, my letters on Substack are not recognized on the search engines.
But they are quickly picked up on the other site where I use the same headlines and key words.
Substack needs to fix this.
Hi Donald, Paul Macko has a great article about how to help search engines recognize your Substack. I couldn't find the exact article but I believe it's in this section of his Substack.
https://pau1.substack.com/s/getting-deeper-into-marketing
Thanks for the shout out, Donna! I couldn't be here live this morning. This is probably the article you are refering to: https://pau1.substack.com/p/6-steps-for-more-substack-subscribers
Thank you for the insight Donald, in terms of following I've got small followings on various platforms so I suppose this is quite representative.
Hi Jordon. There's a gold mine of potential followers on Facebook groups, which might help you grow faster. Basically, find groups related to your writing, deliver super concise but valuable info to them, and then offer them your substack as a source for the info they're looking for. That has helped me a lot!
Thanks Marcus, I'll certainly give that a look.
I've gotten a few free subscribers from my general Facebook page but nothing from specific FB groups...even ones that are appropriate top my topic. Hmmm. Any thoughts?
Interesting. It could be potentially how you present or package your newsletter when sharing. Then again, maybe what pulls in your audience might be different from mine. What do you do when sharing your posts in a FB group?
Read and make recommendations, learn more here in Open Office Hours and on Notes!
My 2 cts:
- keep writing and be consistent (as in post with a regularity: once a week, twice a month)
- don't be shy about it: share on socials, but certainly also when you meet people
- listen to feedback and learn from it: if people tell you something, that in itself means they want to help you.
I tend to post 2 a week and then use the other social media channels to push traction to the articles throughout the week.
I built my nest egg through email blasts which helped there at least be a tiny little network effect. I have unfortunately tapped out on that resource for myself.
(Pro tip: People often include their email addresses on LinkedIn, so that's a resource).
Also, The Sample has generated 65 decent subscribers for me. Some fairly loyal ones game via that platform: https://thesample.ai/?ref=f259
I second The Sample, it got me in front of people who like reading newsletters in my early days.
Well I didn't automatically sign them up. I asked them through the link, so it was there choice at the end of the day. I also generally targeted people I knew. But most importantly, I don't really take seriously those who get annoyed by a random email advertisement (especially if it comes from an individual and not a large company).
Thank you
✏️ Hello fellow pencil-pushers ✏️
I was wondering if some of you could help me - I've had a few piece of feedback that it wasn't clear enough what my substack was all about - from both the welcome page and the about us page. I've now made some changes and I was wondering if you could give it a quick look and tell me if it's now a bit clearer! If you've got a minute, here it is:
https://wrongchannel.substack.com/
It's fine but it's bland. Here's what I wrote about About pages.
Now that we’ve plugged in the title and main imagery of your site, it’s time to talk about your About page. Aside from your homepage, this will likely be the most visited page of your whole site, and it needs to tell people exactly what they are getting as quickly as possible. Even if you have a meandering brand that touches on many things, people need to know that upfront.
This is also the page others will look at for cross-collaborations, and to hype up your brand, so it’s good to have everything they need high enough that they don’t have to scroll. For mine, I put the cover image at the top of the page, and then here is my first paragraph.
Welcome to the Author Stack. This publication sits at the intersection of craft and commerce, helping writers build more sustainable businesses that allow them to thrive while creating work that lights them up inside. We strive to give authors agency in a world that too often seems intent on stripping it away from them.
Notice how I state the name of the publication, then tell people exactly what to expect. I also added a slightly modified 7-word pitch (helping writers build more sustainable businesses) and ended with my universal fantasy. It’s all there in less than 100 words.
After that, I added my bio and expanded on why you should trust me to lead you on this journey. I focused on my value proposition and unique selling proposition throughout, with each paragraph going deeper and deeper into why somebody should trust me. Because my publication is about giving you agency, I decided to end with a positive message about the future to demonstrate the hopeful nature of my articles.
If you have specific days of the week you publish, or special perks for paid subscribers, this is a good place to lay them out. However, the most important thing is to keep people excited about the possibilities and not weigh them down with extraneous information. Your job is to sell them on why they should subscribe, and once you have sold them, stop selling.
I won’t tell you the exact length, but I will say that every paragraph should reinforce the central thesis of why somebody should subscribe to hear more about your work. If you want a little more detail about how to structure your About page, this article might be helpful.
Now, it’s time to condense this to your short description, which has as of yet been empty. You can find the short description under the Publication name in DASHBOARD>SETTINGS>BASICS.
This 15,000 word post is now free on my publication. https://authorstack.substack.com/p/worldclasssubstack
Russell ... I am a synthesizer so it's fun to compare our approaches. My short version of the About Page goals ...
SHOW:
- who you are
- what you write
- why it’s important for your readers
BTW ... I think the phrase " intersection of craft and commerce" is very powerful. I'm starting a collection of Nohelty Notes. ;-)
I love it. I wish I could take credit for it. I totally took it from Convertkit's Craft + Commerce summit.
Well you know what Austin Kleon says: Steal like an artist! ;-)
100% :)
Thanks Russel, appreciate you taking the time, I'll take this aboard
Is there a way to actually see stats on how many visitors vist your About page? I almost never go to anyone's About page and use the mouse hover-over snippet as my initial guide of whether to click and then somewhat visually appraise the homepage and then click on something that draws my eye, read, then decide whether I am engaged or not and want to subscribe.
I'm really curious to know how much of an impact an About page makes.
Page stats aren't available natively in Substack but you can connect Google Analytics and that gives you the power to view About page visits.
Here's how to connect Analytics: https://open.substack.com/pub/pubstacksuccess/p/how-to-add-google-analytics-to-substack?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you!
I'd echo the earlier comment about tightening up the first sentence on your About page. I love what you're trying to say, but it took me more than a couple times of reading it to get it.
Cheers Kevin, appreciate you giving me your thoughts. I definitely haven't cracked this case wide open. I'll give it another whazz. I think I find it inherently cringey trying to sell myself, so I'm always looking for some sneaky approach, that I can live with
Sam ... we had a Challenge about this ... you might find it helpful to read the comments section of this post where people were reworking these elements. https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/rewrite-challenge-identity
Finding Joyce's Gratitude Mojo very helpful! 💜
Me to! :)
Thanks, Sue ... I'm hoping to look at your submission today. Last few days have been way busy.
No hurry! I'm actually still thinking through some of that. It's a beginning, so your feedback will be helpful whenever it arrives.
Thanks Joyce, this is really helpful. I think I need to dive back in
Sam ... feel free to submit you work to the challenge. It is officially over but I love helping people get these big elements right. Plus, it's great exercise for clarifying your value and what you want to write about.
Looks clear! Sub’d too. We write some parody/satire on Factorial Zero. Nice to meet another writer in a similar-ish genre 💪
Thanks for checking it out and letting me know! Oh cool, I'll check yours out too. It certainly is. There's not as many silly sausage around as you might expect
We aim to be as stupid as possible. We find new lows everyday
I reckon stupidity is measured in peaks
Deep troughs in our case
I love the whole thing you've got going over there. It's visually appealing and hilarious. I thought your about page was good (but I am not a Substack expert) and your home page is excellent.
Donna ... I agree with you ... fwiw.
Not sure what it used to look like, but to me it seems clear. Also really like the style of your about page, very personal, plus well-structured with the different headings. Also, all of your thumbnails on the homepage are in the same style, do you make those yourself? They look really good!
Hey Robert, thanks man, I appreciate the feedback! As for the images, I don't make them myself, I order them of fiiver every month. It doesn't cost a huge amount, and I really enjoy the process of coming up with the ideas (which I could never bring to life myself) - then seeing them once they've come to life
Images make a huge difference. Done well, they help deliver your message and make it more memorable.
interesting, will keep it in mind for when I need some art or a logo or something!
Ok, Sam ... finally actually looked at your stack. Your home page rocks ... I would say it's "grotty" except I'm still not sure what that means. In case it's good, take it. Whatever you're paying for those images is money well-spent. I've looked at multitudes of home pages on my journey to find Beautiful Examples for the Substack Field Guide ... your shows what I think Russell Nohelty calls an "ethos" and I call "artistic vision." It conveys a humorous, light-hearted take on things.
HOWEVER, (that usually introduces a negative, but in this case is the lead-in to a superlative), your titles are brilliant and compelling. The next issue of the Field Guide will focus on ENTER ... meaning making a great first impression. You've earned a place in that issue so I'm off to subscribe to Wrong Channel ... you might want to make that "Wrong Channel by Sam Briggs" to build your name recognition. Then, I will also look at your About Page. Keep going ... you're doing great.
Haha the value of the grot is certainly a point of contention! But proves why feedback is super important as I hadn’t realised it was a silly little bit of made up-sounding British English! It’s difficult to lose the assonance of grotty topics, but I don’t want to baffle people with the grottiness. I think I’ll have to add some examples of grottiness afterwards.
That’s so cool to hear! I’m really glad the images are having the desired effect. It really makes me smile seeing the artist coming up with the pics on these, dare I say, grotty topics.
Oh thank you! That’s really cool. I’m honoured to have made it 😀
What are you thinking? Changing the actual title to "Wrong Channel by Sam Briggs" to build your name recognition?
I sometimes feeel a bit guilty about my clickbaity headlines. But they have to be interesting enough for people to bother clicking on them. I find people don’t mind being baited as long they’re rewarded once they click.
Thanks for the encouragement, feedback and kind words. It’s so cool what you’re doing to support other writers on substack
I love being in the midst of so much creativity and these conversations are a delight.
Well I've guffawed twice and I'm only in the second paragraph. Thought: I like all the mixed messages of "Wrong Channel" ... I wonder, though, if "Grotty Channel" (now that I've read your definition) might also work. Would probably depend on how it works for your audience.
Haha that would be tempting but I have a YouTube channel by the same name, so have to keep it consistent! And I had only just looked at the definition of grotty and found it to be spot on. Just had an idea I could include that definition in the title. Might work! Here’s the benefit of chatting with fellow writers
I wish I could help, but I'm afraid I am not in your target group. I do not understand the word "grotty". And that plays an important role in your about page. So, it's rather lost on me, to be honest.
But... as I started with: if I am not your target audience, then it's perfect. If I don't know what grotty means, I might not get your content anyway. So, it's probably a good selector.
haha oh man, sorry I excluded you with the grottiness of it all! There is some non-grot in there you might take more of a shining to. That's interesting to know. It's impossible to measure how widespread awareness of grotty is. That feedback is very helpful actually, as I've just realised it's an informal british word, so could be isolating Americans
Just noticed "grotty" ... being American, I don't really get it ... but it sort of telegraphs a lot ... contemporary, casual, perhaps "gritty," perhaps a bit dark, ... google says "unpleasant and poor quality" but I get it as a rather snarky, humorous take on things. I would keep the word and make weave in a few words that would make us Americans feel like we're "in" on something. ;-)
No, don't worry. It's completely fine. I just wanted you to be aware of the signal value of that word.
I don't feel excluded at all, Can't be everywhere at once. My niche is poetry, that's also not for everybody. I bet there are a lot of people who see the word poetry in my substack and move away. That's good. You can't be everywhere and you can't please everyone. If you try, all you do is fail. Find your niche. If that is the people who use the word grotty, that's where you start building. Embrace it.
Thanks Arjan! The thing is there’s probably lots of people who would like it who aren’t familiar with gritty, so I need to sort it out. I think to Joyce’s point I can keep the grot but add a bit of clarity
Checked it out. Seems clear :). "You will have stumbled across my writing if you've been camped within my bedroom ..." Hahaha. Same. "How to Survive Being an Ex-Stoner around Stoners" is great! Subscribed. My stuff isn't in this genre, though I like to hope readers find themselves laughing at a line or two. Laughter is SUCH a valuable resource in this crazy world.
Hi Holly, I'm glad it made some sense! Write like nobodies reading as they say. Glad you like it. Ex-potheads make the world go around. That's cool. I'm a bit scared to write anything that isn't intended to make people laugh. I just realised I've never actually done that!
It's trying to make people laugh that's intimidating to me.
I can only sometimes write a serious sentence in a silly article because I know I need one for it to be funny, so I can trick myself into allowing it
Let’s stay in our lane… or we make a deal! I’ll write an ode to modern linguistics and you a limerick about sausages
They really do!
Hello, Sam. The first line of your "About" section - I had to read it twice because the phrasing is a little off-putting. I think that you could consider deleting that first paragraph and starting with the second paragraph that goes, "I usually write about anything that seems funny to me." That's a direct statement. And then specificity on what topics could be considered on the clammy side of life's undercarriage. Like, if I have to imagine those topics on my own, I might be thinking of anything from cringy public outbursts to people with cabbage fetishes. I also like the directness of the first sentence of the "Who is Me?" I think the straightforwardness is necessary because you need to grab a reader in just a few seconds.
Hi Sam! Just read your about page. For me, I really get it when you write, “Wrong Channel is a comedy blog on grotty topics - writing about anything that’s not quite right - with some not-grot mixed in for good measure, too.” Maybe start with that? Good luck!
Hey Jack! That's a bloody good idea. I think I'll do just that
haha that's good to know. I'll get rid of that one. I'm always getting in my own head about claiming anything is funny, because you can't trust anyone who says it. That's a good idea mate. haha cabbage fetishists making cringy public outburst is my niche - maybe it is is working. Funnily enough, I used to start the thing with who is me? - but some readers felt I needed to go into what it was all about first. Thanks Jonathan, I really appreciate the feedback!
Cabbage fetish outbursts is a wide open niche to corner. Just ripe for the taking. And good! It could take some messing with - I think I’ve changed my “About” and “welcome” probably 15 times.
And a delicious niche at that! It’s time for another fiddle
Thanks Raisini! I'll check this out
When people subscribe to a newsletter, they do so with the expectation of privacy. Now that Substack publicly displays a newsletter’s subscribers (at least some of them, if not all), you’ve violated this implicit understanding between subscriber and publication.
Also, you reveal email addresses in some cases.
Will Substack do something about this? Some people write about sensitive topics and don't want their subscribers made public. But just overall, it's not a good thing.
This is not good. I think it's been slipped in to up the followers potential.... since by each subscriber there is a button to "follow" not subscribe. Sneaky. On a typical news letter subscribers are kept private... the newsletter is like one-2-one even though it's written as one-2-many.
Interesting. Checked my personal settings as well, expecting to find a switch to not show up. I could not find it. That seems an omission. I publicly subscribe to the substacks I subscribe to. Even comment publicly. But if you choose not to do so, you should be able to select that you don't show up in lists like this.
Wondering about this also.
I've never seen the lists of subscribers to other writers' letters.
As the owner of my newsletter, I expect to see my subscribers' newsletters. I need access to those addresses so I can email individuals when they ask me to .
Substack slipped this in without much fanfare. On your profile:
https://substack.com/@donaldeljohnson
There's a link beneath your name that says "500 subscribers". Click that to see them. The wording of the link varies from pub to pub, but it's the same thing. Your list is now public, as is mine, and everybody else's.
🟧 How does the team decide which Substacks to promote as Featured ones (in the occasional promotions that we get sent?
That's interesting, though I'd like to know what going deep into a clear topic means. Does it mean a focus on just one topic, or one-off long posts about a particular topic? I subscribe to several newsletters that cover lots of things (as mine does), and also very narrowly focused ones, and they are all equally engaging. Thanks
Once I found out that Substack features writers that go deep into a clear topic I've had that same question. Does this mean the niche-ier the better (making up my own words now)?
Who knows, Donna. I've gone into one topic deeply (about jazz) and I've gone into deep topics. But it's my experiments in style posts that garner the most interest, which is interesting
I think your experiments in style is very unique, which Substack likes. It's consistent, it offers value, is interesting and the articles are the perfect length that demonstrate the whole concept without being bulky.
Actually, now that I write this all out I think you should be a Substack featured writer for your experiments in style articles (sorry, I arrived after most of the jazz articles were published and haven't had a chance to look at them.)
On the subject of regular posting: I think it depends on the kind of Substack and the kind of audience. I post on Slouching Towards Bethlehem once per month. I do this deliberately because a) because it gives time to chew on my fairly longform essays and b) I think my readers would not appreciate a daily or even weekly. For those who do want more I post very regularly on Notes.
I don't subscribe to a lot of Substack newsletters because I'm already swamped with emails.
The problem is that when infrequent posters send emails, I forget why I subscribed to them. So they go to junk or are deleted when I'm busy.
Publishing only monthly lets your subscribers forget who you are.
Interesting comment but again I think it depends. My https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/ is about 'Reflections' on broad political themes. You don't want to be 'reflecting' every day! I can see how your audience's needs would be very different. I get hardly any unsubscribes....once they've arrived, they stay.
Thanks for getting back. I'll just live in hope I guess!
🟧 Thanks Katie and the Substack team for organizing the Office Hour. There is a LOT of useful content. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to follow and comments get lost very easily. Is there a way to organize the different topics using more than the symbols but actual clickable sub-structure? Is there a way to follow your own question thread? Here is what I posted earlier and I am reposting it here -
🟧 - I would like to know if and when Substack would offer the writers more flexibility when it comes to selectively archiving past postings. Currently, it is pretty much "all or nothing" and for me to utilize the archive feature to provide paid subscription value, I would like to be able to customize which articles to archive and under what subsection. Can anyone care to offer some visibility into product enhancement on the archive feature?
🟧 Can I beg for some help in finding where my blogs were restacked? Only just found out about the dashboard & intrigued about restocks on some older posts I hadn’t checked.
✏️ 🟧 How can I write LaTex equations inline with text?
Hi! Unfortunately this isn't possible at the moment.
The reasoning, if you're curious, is that we need to display these equations as images to send posts out via email, and inline images aren't supported sufficiently in many email clients, to the point where posts would look broken to many email readers.
I see! Thanks for your reply Ben!
Super helpful. Although I've been on Substack for a while, I've taken a break and feel that the platform has evolved so quickly, there are a few new things I need to employ to improve my readers experience. I'm learning a lot from other writers and so I appreciate this chance to share resources and ideas.
Wow! Thank you for taking the time to create this post! So much detailed information. I'll dive in once I finish writing today!
Late for the game today (I had to clean my room), but so want to use what I saw just glancing at it.
Thanks for these tips!
Great stuff here!! Thanks for sharing. Instagram has been the toughest for me...
Would you mind sharing which reel was the one that took off? I just followed you over there, I’m curious!
Thanks, Raisini, I've saved this for later. Looking forward to reading and acting on it
defo
Hi Rasini! Thanks so much for sharing this info for free. I'm sure it took a lot of time to put together but it looks packed with value. Definitely going to dig into the details later this evening. Cheers!
Raisini, congratulations on your success, this is awesome! Appreciate your generous share.
Will do!
Hi Raisini! Thank you for sharing these tips! Quite resourceful.
Thanks for the article! Some of the Appearance/Design brand identity questions present a chicken/egg dilemma I faced at the beginning of this year. I had only a few articles and didn’t even know what exactly I wanted to write about, much less what brand design to aim for. I just made some hasty choices for layout, name, and About page, and I started writing. Best I could do at the time. Planning to revisit your article at the end of the year though, once I’ve got a sample population of articles to analyze. Looking forward to making some improvements, and then adding the additional 99,950 subscribers I’m aiming for.
Thanks for the tips! Could you expand a little deeper (with examples) on how to better utilize the Substack built-in SEO, and also leverage social media ads?
Raisini, I have been using Substack's SEO however did not setup my Substack URL on google Console. When I tried to do so earlier, it failed domain ownership verification. Do you know what might have caused that?
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thanks for that link!
🔥🔥🔥
Whoa whoa whoa you two. What's happening here? Explain the twinning to me like I'm a five-year-old please. Small words good. Ty!
Thank you for putting this together. And yes, I'd love 1%!
I LOVE the paid subscriber notes—great idea. Extremely inspiring, as my readers are very generous with their praise!
And BTW, I have over a thousand paid subscribers, not hundreds, as it says in my profile. Just sayin'.
Hi Valerie - I would love to hear more about your growth of free/paid subs. Congrats on such an accomplishment. Any tips or insights for growing that you can share?
Alyssa, I was at first offering all posts for free till I realized how much work it was taking to produce them weekly. Then, still somewhat reluctant, I started putting occasional posts (only the q&a's) behind a paywall. Big jump in paid subscribers. So I'm experimenting with paywalling more posts. Even though I seem to have excellent reader engagement, it still makes me nervous.
As a paid subscriber in Val's community I will offer an (unasked for) opinion here. Don't you love it when people do that?! But I think that's what Office Hours is for.
Val offers excellent value to a paid sub in the form of solid, research based information, but she also makes us feel like we are her her friends by sharing stories about her life and occasional challenges she is facing. She is very welcoming and has created the most amazing community of like minded souls who engage with each other. I have met many wonderful people by showing up there. It's like a really special kind of Office Hours.
Now, how you pull all that off Val, I'm not sure, but it's great!
Donna! Thank you SO MUCH for this terrific endorsement. How do I pull it off? By thinking I'm writing for people like you. Huge heart emoji. xo
Donna, You are so awesome. Just sayin'.
Right back at you Sister!
Like Alyssa and Melanie, I too would love to know how you grew your Stack. I’ve been struggling to gain new Subscribers and convert my social media followers to subscribers.
It's been word of mouth for me mostly. I've been invited to be on several podcasts--and a while ago The Cut at New York Magazine offered to syndicate my posts if I would write one exclusive for them/month. That helps drive readers to HNTFUYF far more than social media.
✏ Like Alyssa, I'm eager to hear your tips Valerie. I've had my account since January but just posted 2 weeks ago. Do you have a post about your growth?
Melanie, sorry to say I have no tips. I basically just want to write and I'm lucky that my readers inspire me.
I sure have, but not that many!
There really are some sweet messages. Love this new feature.
How do you see the messages or leave the messages? Can I leave one if I am already a paid sub?
Sorry Chevanne, I should probably have dropped this Q in a different spot in this thread! Don't feel like you have to answer me.
When I got a paid subscriber, it came in the notification email but I’m also able to see it on my dashboard. I don’t know if you can leave a message. Perhaps when you re-up for the next cycle? Not sure.
Thank you Chevanne, I appreciate your response.
Waves to Val :-)
Hi, Jena!
I agree - they’re fabulous !
Can you say more about "paid subscriber" notes as opposed to notes? Sorry- not sure what you're referring to, but it sounds important.
I think paid subscriber notes refers to the messages than someone can leave you when signing up for a paid subscription
Right.
It's a new feature. Go up to the top of this discussion and click "read" to return to the post and see the new features announced there. It's easy to skim past them to get to discussion. :-)
Thanks!
I just asked this question under Chevannes' question (sorry C💗), but do you know where I can find them in my Stack or where I go to post one. I am unclear on that.
Why isn't there any functionality for writers on the app? I'd love to be able to compose a post and access my writer dashboard from it.
I’ve been wondering this since day one. You also can’t restack quotes from articles in the app, which seems glaring
🟧 Yes - what Cole said. That would be a nice addition.
I'm able to restack from a post using the app. However, it won't let me highlight text that spans a paragraph break.
That’s my issue too
Quotes or bullets
I can restack quotes from other people's articles but not my own. Seems strange.
Yes! This would be so helpful!
^ this...would love to see this functionality too
Ah, so there’s is no functionality on the app...I’m new and have been wondering about that. I’m finding that I’m doing all of my writing on my phone. So, it would make sense to be able to publish and edit posts on it, as well. ALSO, I’ve been watching substacked videos and workshops on the app, but it doesn’t allow for streaming or reading in landscape orientation, so the videos and PDFs in the videos are impossible to read. As a filmmaker who hopes to include video on my substack to support my writing, is there any chance the app will become rotatable? AND I highly recommend becoming a paid subscriber to Sarah Fay’s Writers at Work. Sarah answers many of the kinds of questions I’m seeing here!
Yeah I agree with that. I've had long delays in publishing because my moment to write/edit my substack came when I was out without a computer.
Perhaps starting with the Dashboard for viewing stats and information about your publications, not editing or creating new stuff.
Sometimes you just want to check your engagement, etc. not necessarily writing a 2000 word article in your phone 😹
Nice!
+1 to that vote :D
🧠 Here’s a lil bit of encouragement that I shared yesterday on Notes. Perhaps it will give you a boost, today?
I got my start on Instagram posting my writing online. And anyone who has been on Instagram for a while knows that it has gone through quite a few shifts over the years, some of them not so nice for creatives just trying to get their work seen.
A philosophy I adopted during the ups and downs on Instagram is this:
Just post it. The people who need it will see it.
When I came to Substack and I was a teeny tiny little account with hardly any readers, I brought that philosophy with me. It’s still my philosophy today.
You can’t control algorithms, discoverability, trends, or reader engagement. You can read all the advice, spend money on courses, and adopt every tool in the book. But in the end, that part isn’t up to you.
Instead, imagine that somewhere out there—whether they engage or not—the person who needs your work is waiting to read it. Your job is not to let them down. You’re a writer!
Just post it. The people who need it will see it. ✨
I love this so much. Re: “the people who need it will see it,” I totally agree.
It’s been such a heartwarming boost to get messages here and there—not just from friends, but also acquaintances and even strangers—that something I wrote resonated with them. One message like that buoys me for weeks! I’ve upped my replying and commenting game to pay that feeling forward for others.
I absolutely agree with this. I came to Substack in February absolutely cold and just wrote once a week, straight out into the ether. At first it was very lonely, but soon subscribers started to come and with interaction on Notes that increased. At the moment subs are coming more quickly and I'm not too far away from 200, plus a few paid. All my posts are free, as is my archive. I make it clear that a paid sub is like a tip jar, and I don't provide anything extra. I'm not here to create an income. Just to write and hopefully have people like and read what I'm writing.
I love the concept of paid being just a tip jar!
I love this! Just write, be consistent, and share openly. Writers write!
I have no idea whether the people who *might* find what I write in any way useful are on here, but I don't really want to go anywhere else.
I love this advice!
What is your Instagram handle, I’d love to connect with you over there
Hi Cole! It's in my Substack profile, but fair warning: I have it set to private and I don't use it for sharing my work anymore. I just use it as a fun, fluffy social media account, which works better for my brain nowadays. 😁
So good, thanks.
Post it.
Keep posting.
Keep showing up.
And like the amazing S.E. Reid:
Be. Kind.
Thank you for being here with your positive vibes, S.E.
Yes! That is the mindset I started my Substack with. It's growing bit by bit. My readers like it, and I'm happy with that. Thanks for the reminder!
🧠 - A lot of writers on Substack ask what metrics or stats are important when trying to determine what "works" for growth. Is it likes, open rates, comments or geography? I'm here to tell you that's the mindset of a content producer, not a writer. If you want to spend your days reacting to statistics, your content will be as fickle as your audience. Write what you want and what you're passionate about, be good at it, and the rest will fall into place. You will automatically attract those readers who share your same passion and appreciate your unique voice. If you just want to make a name for yourself and lots of money to boot, then there are much easier ways than writing.
Brian, I think your point is incredibly well taken and well stated. The last thing any artist, including writers, should want is to become transactional. I don't want people to read my work because I'm an effective marketer or salesperson. I want them to read because the work is valuable to them. It's all about the work. Frankly, that's my one big concern about Substack. It tends to encourage us to become more transactional.
Thanks for making such a valuable point!
Thanks, Howard! It's definitely true that Substack is transactional since it's the mainstay of their business model, but we don't have to operate with that mindset. Technically speaking my readers are customers or consumers, but I treat them like discerning readers who are sharing a common experience, and in the case of one of my Substacks, as a society who even share a common vision. They're paying to encourage me and help provide resources, but it's much less transactional than other platforms.
Hi Brian and Howard, I appreciate your comments, as I so enjoy writing and dislike it when I get too caught up in the transactional and social media type of mindset.
Bravo. Let's keep in touch!
I agree with this completely. Don't write to cater to an audience, write from your voice. Deep inside your loins. Get into it and share. The audience will come if you just keep doing that instead of trying to please people and some numbers on a chart.
I do try to stay with my integrity and writing with my sincerity and voice not to get caught up in the need to prove or validate myself or grow an audience with catchy strategies. However, when I edited, I do try make my article flow, and think of the reader, and try not to burden them with too much of my own needs.
Bro, I could learn a thing or two from you. Love your writing style!
Thanks for saying this Brian. I have definitely been struggling between writing what I actually want to write vs. what I think will attract the most people. With this being the first time writing in my life besides school, it feels weird to just be genuine, especially coming from using social media constantly where no one seems to care about the person, just what attracts attention. I appreciate you being so candid, as I needed to hear this!
I know several writers here who have paid enabled, but are more interested in continuing to write for fun even though they know it won't include a big audience. I enjoy writing fiction, but there are a few topics I'm knowledgeable about and could make good money writing, but I would not enjoy it at all. Find your balance and the joy you have will be contagious. 👍
That is a brilliant point!
Well said, Brian!
Thanks, Nathan!
Thank you Brian for this excellent reminder. It dovetails perfectly with the message S.E. Reid gave us earlier.
I agree. My reason for starting a Substack was merely to creatively explore a topic I'm interested in and go on a learning journey with like minded folks. Numbers and stats didn't really come into it. At times I feel like the platform has forgotten this important element of enjoyment for reader and writer. Not everything has to be about money or status.
Bravo.
✏️ + 🟧 - Any tips or insights from those who have achieved 100+ paid subscribers? Have you utilized certain methods like a discount offering in free subscriber welcome emails, occasional specials or other incentives? I would especially love to hear some creative approaches.
The majority of my Substack content is free (and I would prefer to not paywall my archive/bulk of my work). I offer paid subs additional resources on select posts (like a recording or Q&A behind the paywall), discounts on my professional services, and access to a submission form.
Hoping to be inspired by others growth and strategies, thank you!
Just over 100 subs here. All my stuff is free and I publish either once a week or once every two weeks.
My biggest source of followers is through interaction with other people here (recommendations, call-outs, guest posts, etc.) basically just supporting other great writers!
Matt -- to clarify, you have over 100 subs or over 100 paid subs? Like you, all my stuff is free, but I give folks the option to support the work financially if they wish. Been hovering at around 7% paid subscribers.
I have 58 subs. Zero paid yet. Feels bad. Advice on making them the pitch to sign up? I’m still relatively new in the paid game even though I’ve been here with another Substack for 2 years
Don't become discouraged! Study the About pages of others and also how they pitch for paid subscriptions. Also check out @https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/ and also @https://substack.com/@writersatworkwithsarahfay.
Here is the post where I explained to my readers the reason why I decided to add the paywall. If you scroll to the bottom of this post under the Housekeeping items you'll see what I sent. I followed it up with one more free post where I reminded my readers the next post would be for my Membership Circle. Since then every second post is for my paid subs. I made sure my first post to paid subs was one that was very enticing.
https://donnamcarthur.substack.com/p/an-anchor-for-release
I also am hovering right under 7% with and I offer everything for free as well.
Interesting. I’d love keep everything open, while having enough paid subs. to give me some pocket money. This encourages me to believe it’s possible! Any other elements to achieving payment this way, Elizabeth? Thanks 🙏
Elizabeth, that's the strategy I'm about to activate in September. Wonder how its going for you. Artists of old had patrons, and I'm hoping we can earn them as well. Take out all the transactionality and make it all about the value of the work. Any suggestions would be welcome!
Ah good catch, I missed the paid part. All my stuff is free.
Is that 100 subs or 100 paid subs?
Ah good catch. I missed the “paid” part. All my stuff is free.
Mine too. I kind of like it like that.
In the subscribers tab in the dashboard you can email people, and I have found the best way to turn somebody into a paid subscriber is to send them a 1-time offer to upgrade. I have literally 100 paid subs right now and am waiting for 101 to hopefully get that little checkmark.
I don't post big discounts, but I do target people through filtering.
Russell, you just inspired me to try this - just sent an email to the most engaged readers with a discount for the yearly sub option. Felt scary, but I am super curious (and excited) to see what happens!
yay! LMK how it goes :)
I tried this recently and didn't see any conversions. I'm surprised as I had some switch over to paid a month or so before when I ran a special. I will keep this in mind though and try again at a later date.
That's a great idea Russell. Did you get most of your paid subs through that method? Or just a portion of them?
I just did it this morning and I think have 12-13 paid today.
I would say the general vibe of my substack is about author growth if you like this kind of thing, too.
I write a technical newsletter about Python. My main goal is to help people get out of the beginner mindset, and start to gain a deeper understanding of the language and how they can use it in their everyday work. I don't have 100 paid subscribers yet, but I should get there before too much longer.
I want to get paid for the work of putting out quality writing every week, but I also want the overall resource I'm creating to be available to people who can't afford things like newsletter subscriptions. I decided to make some posts paid, but all paid posts are unlocked after a period of 6 weeks. I tell people that paid subscriptions let you see everything as soon as it's posted, but the primary benefit is knowing that you're helping to make this content available to people who can't afford to pay for it.
My paid to free ratio is lower than many, but if my audience continues to grow it will be a meaningful amount.
Most of this was copied over from a previous thread, more discussion here: https://on.substack.com/p/office-hours-82/comment/18534487
This is really helpful, thank you. Also, I really like the idea of unlocking paid posts after a set time. I haven't seen that option before and it feels like a great way to incentivize paid subs while also giving options to those who can't afford it. Thank you!!
It's not a built-in feature. I use an issue tracker to keep track of all my newsletter-related work. When I make a paid post, I add a note about when to unlock the paid posts.
Even without the issue tracker, it's pretty straightforward to just look back through the last 6 weeks' of posts and see how many are going to need to be unlocked, and when.
Thanks, appreciate the explanation. How do you build your free subscriber base? Do you share your newsletter on other platforms as well?
I have been a member of some online communities for a long time, so I mention my newsletter on those profile pages. I have some other projects out there, and I include a link to the newsletter on relevant projects. I also reach out to podcast hosts in my field, and try to do a "podcast tour" once in a while. Those have been fantastic for referrals.
All of this has led to a steadily growing subscriber base.
Oh I like that approach. Paying to see it immediately but moreover to support the work.
Eric, what are your thoughts on the opposite approach? I'm debating making posts free for the first X weeks but then putting them behind a paywall.
I think that's a pretty interesting approach. My decision is pretty specific to my audience. A significant part of my audience is people who are just getting into programming, or people who have been at it for a while but are looking to level up. A lot of the value is in my archive, but a lot of the people who need what's in that archive are at a point in their career where they can't afford a number of newsletter subscriptions. So, I really want that archive available to those people when they need it.
I have a 3-5 year vision for my newsletter. As these subscribers do level up, I'm hoping to see them end up as paid subscribers 6 months, 1 year, 3 years from now. I've been a programming author for 10 years now, and I've had similar growth in more formal publication work.
If I were writing for an audience who already had expertise that should correlate to well-paying jobs, I might consider the opposite approach. I think it's *really* important for people to have a clear intended audience, and then find ways to sort out who your actual audience is. Then formulate a strategy that works for your audience, not just decide on random "growth hacks" or something.
Thanks for asking this question, Alyssa. Thought I'd jump in here and follow along, as I've been wondering the same. I haven't yet launched paid subscriptions but am working on a strategy to do so and similarly don't want to paywall the archive but do want to offer extra goods! :)
Happy to answer questions on making the leap. I've had paid subs turned on for a while now and have had success.
Thanks! That's so kind.
You might find this useful https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/s/substackexplorers by Joyce Wycoff. I downloaded the first field guide. The rest are paid.
Thanks Denise. Field Guide #2 is now out focusing on how to help readers find us. There is a 30-day Free Trial so that everyone can read this first important step of the simple marketing process that's the backbone of the Field Guide ... ENTICE - ENTER-ENGAGE-EXIT-EXTEND. Getting started is challenging but everyone seems to say the first 500 subscribers are hard ... after that it gets easier. ;-)
My pleasure. I'll get to #2, just a bit behind :)
I'm considering a paywall, but like you, I would like my content to be free as much as possible , but was wondering how that has worked to provide a discount on your professional services? I'm just finishing a long piece on dreamwork, influence by some of my background with Jungian work and would love to do an interview with you. I'm transitioning into doing some podcasts which are fun switch from writing.
Before Substack, I had Patreon and offered discounts for professional services, so I carried that over when I made the switch. It works well and I have subscribers who utilize it for 1-off sessions or to purchase/attend a class at a discounted rate. I include the discount code via the paid subscribers welcome email.
Curious to read your piece on dreamwork and glad to meet another with an interest in Jungian ideas. I've subscribed to your newsletter and would be interested to have a podcast interview with you. Feel free to email me at aapolizzi@gmail.com :)
Hi Alyssa, my paid publication has 140 paying subs and a conversion of 6.5%.
When I went paid I focussed on what was behind the paywall (lots of valuable resources for food safety professionals to use in their jobs) and had a conversion rate of 2%.
To get past 100 paying subs and go from 2% to 6% I did 3 things:
- focussed on writing the most fantastic in-depth super-high value content weekly posts possible. All of that is accessible to everyone. It's got me more raving fans who pay to support my work, rather than paying for the things behind the paywall.
- getting in front of more people more often;
- sharing a testimonial from a paying subscriber inside weekly posts at least a few times per month.
The local currency feature has also boosted conversions I think. More than half of new paying subscribers are paying in other currencies instead of USD.
If you want to learn more about my journey from 0 to $13K, I share insights like this every week in my free publication Pubstack Success (my paid pub is published under a different name/account out of respect for my B2B readers).
Thanks, Katie. Appreciate the resource, will look it over :)
I've noticed for my Substack that the rate of new subscribers has fallen a bit while keeping up my regular publishing schedule and just wondering if other writers are experiencing the same thing?
It seems the last month or so has been fluctuating/stalling compared to the months prior. I am still experiencing growth organically and from the network. But I was wondering....is something off?
As mentioned above. It's the summer. July is the deadest month for all media companies, including self-published platforms like ours.
Same, wondering if this is related to follows.
Good point, that may be it. Now curious readers can engage in a low stakes way...but might not fully convert to being a reader :(
yeah. I'm open to hearing more about the strategy, though, and asked directly! So let's see if I get an answer.
Yes, but you might find the subscribers you do get are more engaged. Maybe.
I have noticed that too. Not sure what the incentive is to follow vs. bring a subscriber.
Following is way, way less commitment, so... I guess it's like dating, and subscribing is like marriage? That's probably not quite right, but it's the closest I can get.
That's probably as good as explanation as many. That being said, not too fired up by this new functionality.
They answered! see my other post (if you can find it)
Thanks - I saw. I still don't really understand what following a writer means or what the user experience is for that, but we'll see, I suppose. Good follow-up question.
Yes, I noticed the same thing. I was getting four per day then it dropped off. New products like Notes may drive discoverability but then it’s up to us to try sustaining it. It’s tough out there.
Some of that will be the time of year. Always a dip in summer.
I think that's a good point, Martin. I'm busy myself and not keeping up with my reading. Fall should be a bit slower for folks.
The summer slump is real, this too shall pass
True and I admit, while I use Notes, it is not as often or with as much skills as others.
I've noticed this as well and I'm guessing it has to do with the time of year. This month, in particular, is so all over the place– we're bouncing between end of summer, back to school. Just looking at how my own headspace and calendar has changed my reading and interacting habits, I'd bet that this season is a bit cluttered and distracted for a lot of people...
Tami, I just wrote the same thing. I'm way behind on reading my favorite writers.
Yes! Meanwhile, I always imagine I'll have MORE time in the summer. Never seems to work out that way.
That's for sure! Those dog days of summer have come to a close for this year, so let's hope we begin to feel that!
I assumed (hoped) it was an end of the summer lull, at least north of the equator
It's not worth worrying about until after Labor Day. If it's still quiet at that moment, then it's worth investigating.
Just a thought: It's August. Summer. Everything seems to slow down every summer. Is it possible that's what you're experiencing?
It's also back-to-school season, so the teacher-writers on here (especially teacher-parent-writers) might not have the same discretionary time. It will be interesting to see if there is an August/Sept dip in both subscriptions and "opens."
OMGosh, yes! I chalk it up to just a "lull" in the algorithm... but whenever this happens, I try to read more of the Substacks I follow and engage more with their stuff. I can't say if this helps, but I consider it to be Substack Karma maybe??
I subscribed to quite a few yesterday and today, our four new subscribers to the Substack. Substack Karma is real!
Yes -- I thought it was an August lull but feels weird.
Get used to it. After a few years it won't feel weird anymore. Perhaps use it as a time to catch your breath...
There’s always a chance you’ll get diminishing returns when fishing the same pond
Ebbs and flows, Robert. Earlier this summer growth was flatlining for me. Now it's growing again at a good pace. Steely Dan always helps, and lots of retweets on, you know, that other place. Posting on Notes helps too. Voluntary paid subscriptions have evaporated after 27 months, though, so I am going to need a new strategy. But some of the paid strategies I've seen lately are rigid and harsh, and the writers don't seem to have thought through the cost vs. value of their Substacks. (They overvalue their own work.) And the competition for even views from the vast multitude of music stacks like ours is becoming fierce: hundred and hundreds.
All very true. Steely Dan is your sweet spot, for sure. Elvis is mine - my latest piece on him received great traffic including on that site (I moved my Substack to my own domain to get around Elon's throttle). Your experience on voluntary paid subscriptions is interesting - I am planning to turn on paid subscriptions this fall (but keeping everything I write open to everyone). I don't like the idea of suddenly putting a padlock on some of my work. It will be a trial and error process, I am sure. And yes, the number of music Substacks keeps growing.
Its that time of the year. August is always slow.
It fluctuates, so I approach it with a shrug.
Plus, it's summer (in the northern hemisphere! still cool down here on the other side of the world).
Summer duldrums. I was a journalist for 10 years and July/August are the longest stretch of enemic statistics. Mid-December - Mid-January is the furthest drop though. It doesn't last as long, but that's when most of us will get the least amount of readers of the year.
I'm in a similar boat, but I've been chalking it up to the time of year.
I think that's definitely part of it, for sure.
🧠Robert, I think the tsunami of our initial April Notes-drop/subbie flood is naturally dissipating, as it probably could've been predicted. I think it's not related to anything we are or are not doing (like pub schedule, etc).....just law of averages, more or less!
I think there's something to that.
Been flattish recently and we publish everyday. Just the name of the game
✏️ I prefer subscribers to followers. Wondering what other writers think.
I hate the follower process they have started.
Me too
I prefer subscribers as a writer. Followers are a social media feature. Or I could be wrong. I don’t know if there is a genuine conversion rate of followers turning into subscribers.
Agreed, The word subscriber implies that those people find your work to be of value. They have invested in you. Follower has a completely different nuance.
If you consider a subscriber to be a reader, then nothing beats a subscriber because, honestly, a writer's favorite person is always a reader.
I only want subscribers, because you can “own” that audience in a way you can’t with followers.
I agree so much. I dont see the point in the "follower" stuff they jsut added. Its just tricks me when email comes to me saying "you got a new follower" instead of "you got a new subscriber".....
I ignored the follower process haha.
Agreed. You can take your subscribers with you anywhere you go. You can't take your followers.
If that's so, then why followers which dilute the subscriber base? And why make everybody's subscriber list public? When people find out that the subscriber list is available for anyone to see, that my be a disincentive to subscribe.
✏️ My fellow Substack writers!
I am looking for guest writers to feature on The Books That Made Us, a community of bibliophiles and book lovers.
Every post is written by a different guest writer who discusses a ‘foundational book’. A book that you read and reread and have thought about ever since. A book that shaped who you are today. A book that made you.
In 4 weeks since launch we have already garnered over 1500 subscribers (and a 70% open rate) so it’s a great opportunity to get your writing in front of more eyeballs!
Details about how to write for us here:
https://booksthatmadeus.substack.com/p/write-for-us
I write on books. Would get in touch with you :)
Very interested in your project -- thanks for the note.
I could write a personal essay about the His Dark Materials trilogy if you are interested. Feel free to DM me. I'm about to go on a 5-day vacation and that could be a fun project for me.
If you click the link it explains how to pitch!
I'll be taking a look at your write-for-us post. Sounds like you're going to produce an excellent resource for anyone seeking to improve upon themselves. I'd love to be part of that.
I've been thinking about this a lot!!
I did it. This is a great publication.
What a brilliant concept. I'd love to write on this topic. I have a book in mind. It's fiction I read as a teenager. I hope that counts. I'll be in touch.
This is fantastic! :) I'll be in touch.
Omg yes please! I will be reaching out :)
Look forward to it!
Hello, I have an in-depth analysis of the Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse (my all time favourite book) that I have been waiting to publish, I would love to be a guest writer!
Check out my work and let me know if you’re interested
If you click the link you’ll see how to send a pitch!
Look forward to hearing your idea
🟧✏️ Last week Hamish mentioned that our subscriber list, or part of it, is public. This alarmed me! I haven't been able to see where this takes place, either on my own Substack or on others'. Can someone show me what this looks like, where to see such a list?
I asked how to turn this feature off, and Hamish said it's up to the subscribers (who don't know about this) to turn off this access in their settings.
I believe my subscribers deserve privacy, so this troubles me greatly...
I noticed this the other day, too. I believe you can access this by tapping on a user’s name. It’ll show their number of subscribers and even who they are. I don’t like that other people can see who is a paying and free subscriber to your publication. Feels like a violation of privacy.
Yeah it's not a very nice feature. And very subtly introduced without consent :(
You can find your list here: https://substack.com/@upthink/subscribers
If you want to see how I found it, spot the 2k+ subscribers link below your name here: https://substack.com/@upthink
Those who don't like that your sub list is now public should speak up. Say something on Notes and/or here on Office Hours. I've been doing so, but so far Substack hasn't responded.
🟧✏️So how do we protest this invasion of privacy, this lack of transparency? Any ideas? Last week Hamish didn't seem that open to challenges to this feature. I think he has this idea that everyone should be friends and boosters of everyone else - but some of us have principles or feelings going against that.
It doesn't surprise me that they're not open to it. Substack is becoming more and more about showing who has more marbles than another. The fact that making your sub list public violates a long standing understanding between subscriber and publication doesn't seem to matter much to Substack.
But keep speaking up. I've been doing so and have discovered that a lot of people don't seem to even know about it. Substack slipped it in without fanfare.
Looking for the place where a subscriber might switch off the public subscription announcement for themselves. Could there be an option to make each subscription public or private? There are things that people don't search anymore using usual search engines due to the on-line snooping. Perhaps an employer might develop inappropriate interest in what you choose to read. In the current social climate, some people will subscribe more freely if they can opt to keep it private.
I've posted on Notes about this issue and here on Office hours. So far, Substack has not responded at all.
It should *not* be up to each individual subscriber. As you say, most of them don't even know about it.
🟧 I’ve been receiving lots of notice of people following me on Notes. Is there a way to know how many and who?
🟧Just wondering... we've talked often about how Notes is not social media and doesn't have the same features or downfalls as social media. Doesn't "follow" strike anyone as maybe being a little too "social-media-like?"
I'm thinking the way Substack is using it is more practical. It's a lower commitment than subscribing to their newsletter (which can REALLY get out-of-hand for the inbox if we're (or at least, I'm) not selective and intentional, and the start of a connection with people who may become subscribers down the line if they resonate with you as a follower
Follow feature, I believe, is so readers can interact with one another and share stuff they like. I think it’s deliberately not labeled with a count
Lack of count is a good point. I just know how some things can quickly get out of control and ruin what is otherwise a great platform. Think X.
You can see who as the notifications come in but I haven’t seen a list just yet. I also have not seen a count.
Thank you, Bailey. Do we have a sense yet of whether people become followers and then become subscribers--or do they become followers and then don't subscribe?
Fantastic. Thanks for all the good work.
I really like the new Post Search feature. Thank you!
Really enjoy reading the new ‘paid subscriber notes’ ... thanks for adding those.
It gives so much lovely insight, doesn't it? And the subscribers clearly love the opportunity, too.
Me as well, it is such a treat.
Should be interesting opportunities. I have often wondered why someone subscribed. Some of the details like “via notes” helps.
Any protips for stoking referral interest? Mine fell surprisingly flat. Maybe I should try a nicer cologne.
Seconding this. It's kind of useless if you don't have a free novel or something else to offer in return.
Personally, I think the whole referral thing is a distraction and focuses reader attention on the commercial side rather than the value side of the offering.
I got literally zero though that haha.
My only question is what percentage of users on substack search for content? How Should we optimise content for searchability?
🟧 How is Substack thinking of helping smaller writers grow. There were some comments about Subscriber counts disadvantaging smaller publications and programs like Substack Grow not running often. Thanks!
I would recommend checking out the SEO section of the settings page in posts. You can have a totally different, hidden title for your posts to index on the web. Web indexing is huge for content. One of my biggest growth bumps came when I indexed #3 on Google for a huge breaking news story in my niche. We’re talking tens of thousands of visitors in 24 hrs.
To do this, I recommend you run your headlines through CoSchedule headline studio. It will rate your title based on how optimized it is. For example, my last short story is called “Ultra Violet.” Terrible SEO. So I worshipped it and arrived at “The Garden Lights Aren't Safe; just Look what They did to My Daughter.” A 75/100 optimization score.
Keep in mind too, this is what shows up in someone’s inbox. You’re also looking to grab your readers attention as they swipe through hundreds of emails. Which version would stop you scrolling?
Been using ChatGPT to generate SEO titles and descriptions. No idea if this works but feels like it’s better than the auto-filled text
I would recommend coscheduler because it’s not generative. It’s just grading your work as you tweak it. Helps you improve your own writing
Hi Cole! Is that a plugin on chatgpt or just a separate tool?
Completely distinct tool
Will check that out
It also has some generative tools but I don’t use
I'll second that. I use co-scheduler all the time; it really helps.
thanks for the suggestion, have recently started experimenting with Google's keyword tool, could supplement it with CoSchedule, see if it has any effect.
This is super helpful. Thanks for the tip!
In my experience, most of my subscribers come from recommendations, not from search.
That's why networking eats marketing for lunch. That from a marketer.....
I agree as a marketer too. But platforms make people more human and inhuman. That was the reason I started writing on substack knowing that writers are more open here. Compared to how mang writers on twitter always ignore networking & humanity in exchange for growth.
yup.